Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho has spoken to the media about the simple decision of signing a new long term contract at the club in February, stating that he didn't have to think twice about making the decision.
Liverpool have had various contract negotiation problems this season, involving vice-captain Jordan Henderson, young full-back Jon Flanagan and, most notably, Raheem Sterling. No such problems occured when penning a new contract with the tricky playmaker, who says that the warmth he has been showed at the club convinced him to sign on.
“Liverpool have always shown a great warmth to me so when they came to me with a proposal I did not need to think twice to renew the contract,” he said.
“I have always been looked after very well by this football club and I am very happy at this football club, so I didn’t even have to think about it.”
Since signing the new contract in February, Coutinho has gone on a marvellous run of form that secured his place as a nomination for the PFA Player of the Year earlier this week. Despite this, he prefers to keep his head down and focus on improving.
“It is difficult for me to say that,” Coutinho said, when asked about the contract having improved his form. “I’d rather not talk about myself in terms of stepping up levels and things like that because my personal preference is to do my work during the week and then show my best in the game. Sometimes the game does not go for you no matter how much you try, but I do what I can and I leave other people to their opinions on how I played.”
The next challenge for Coutinho and Liverpool is their FA Cup Semi Final against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, and Liverpool's match-winner in the quarter-final against Blackburn Rovers wants to continue chasing his first trophy on Merseyside.
“The season has not finished yet regarding the Champions League. There are still a few games to go, many things can happen and we will try to finish the season on a high – and in the FA Cup as well - for me and the club.”